In 2002, the Policy Center on the First Year
of College undertook a national study to identify
and describe, through in-depth case studies,
a variety of “Institutions of Excellence
in the First College Year.” These case
studies were published by Jossey-Bass in 2005
book entitled Achieving
and Sustaining Institutional Excellence for
the First Year of College.
The Policy Center issued a national call
for nominations for Institutions of Excellence
in early 2002. Colleges and universities were
invited to self-nominate by submitting short
narrative descriptions of their first-year
initiatives. From the 130 nominations received,
an initial group of 54 semifinalists were
selected.
Following additional review of institutional
materials, 13 campuses representing all sectors
of American higher education were chosen from
the 54 semi-finalists as Institutions of Excellence—campuses
exemplifying best practice in the first year
according to the following five criteria:
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